Madison students grab honors at UA German Day
Students enrolled in German from James Clemens High School performed “The Tale of the Great, Big, Fat Pancake” during German Day at the University of Alabama. CONTRIBUTED
MADISON – Madison teenagers won a grant total of 58 awards at the annual German Day state-level competition hosted at the University of Alabama (UA).
Students from German clubs at Bob Jones and James Clemens competed at the event on March 4. Jennifer Bruni at Bob Jones and Peggy Boynton at James Clemens teach German.
“We competed with many schools across the state,” Bruni said. “Bob Jones came away with an unprecedented, record high — 38 total.”
That total for Bob Jones included 15 entries at first place, 13 second-place wins and six with third-place awards for academic, performance arts and visual arts contests that promoted the German language and culture.
“In addition, Bob Jones won ‘Best Alabama School in German,'” Bruni said. “Grace Marenka, a senior, won ‘Best Level 3/4 Student.'”
Maleik Harney, a senior at Bob Jones, won “Top Senior” and a $1,000 scholarship to study German at UA.
James Clemens performed “The Tale of the Great, Big, Fat Pancake” and earned third place. “It was a fun story to tell,” Boynton said.
One-third of awards for James Clemens was in visual arts … many in first place.
James Clemens’ first-place winners were Kourtney Lowman, Audrey Richardson and Jane Boling, original art; Kincaid Wedgeworth, Sandra DeMaria and Elijah Conway, T-shirt design; Caitlin Wesson, Children’s Book; “Vom Fischer und seiner Frau”, Video/Movie Trailer; and Alondra Rosello, Spelling Bee.
Jets in second place were Reagen Kvicala and Claudia Hollis, Poster Collage; Hailey Long and Alondra Rosello, Cecilia Carter and Chelsea Weis, Duo Dialog; Spencer Barnes, Individual Poetry; Nicholas Albert, Michael Kvicala, Reagen Kvicala and Claudia Hollis, Group Poetry; Kourtney Lowman, Reading Comprehension Quiz; and Bella Szmyd and Audrey Richardson, Geography and Culture Quiz.
James Clemens’ third-place winners were Leslie DeVore, Jarod Flory and Chelsea Weis, Group Poetry; Elijah Conway, Dictation Quiz; and Sarah Fry, Spelling Bee.
“It’s empowering for the students to see their knowledge and skills acquired in the classroom in action. They (can) see that learning German can impact their lives in many positive ways. Our German program continues to grow,” Boynton said.
